Knitting isn't so hard… sometimes

Tag Archives: cable needles

The following is a love letter to my favorite cable needle. (Yes, I know I’m weird. I’ll blame it on the fact I haven’t had my coffee yet.)

Dearest Cable Needle,

It feels like we’ve been together forever. Could it be true, that I bought you in college, more than ten years ago?

You were one of a pack of three, but I knew you were special from the first. The smallest of your siblings disappeared in minutes. And the largest has been lost somewhere in my house (or possibly the car… or maybe somewhere out in the yard). But you’ve stayed true, faithfully at my side (and in my knitting bag) for years.

You are such a simple little tool, just a under 4 inches long without any bells or whistles. But therein lies your beauty. Lovely blonde birchwood, tapered to rounded points, with a narrow waist to hold my stitches safely out of the way. Perfection

You’ve been smoothed by years of use to a lovely satiny patina that slips into stitches with ease. And, you’re beautiful enough to be used as a shawl pin.I love you, Cable Needle. And if I ever lose you, I’ll be very, very sad.

-Allison

PS. Do you want your own Perfect Cable Needle? I really can’t recommend them enough. Look online at the Brittany website for stores in your area. (They make really excellent dpns, too.)

It’s summer, and that means it’s time for road trips! It’s time to get the heck out of Dodge and take to the open road with nothing but a couple bucks, your faithful hound dog, and a skein or two of your favorite yarn.

(Or, if your boring, like me, it’s time to walk over to your local park and sit in the grass with a can of coke and a skein or two of your favorite yarn.)

I usually have a travel kit set up, but I make a point to restock and update it at the beginning of the summer. That way, I can just grab my project bag and head out the door on a whim.

So what do I keep in my travel kit?

I keep a little tool kit at all times in a tiny zippered coin pouch. It includes scissors, a handful of stitch markers, a couple yarn needles, a couple cable needles, and a few tiny stitch holders.

Then, I can throw my tool kit in whatever project I’m working on. In the summertime, I favor lacy shawls, socks and other small projects (call me crazy, but I’m not into having a big old sweater or blanket on my lap in 80 degree weather. And yes, I know, I’ve become a total hot-weather weenie when I think that 80 is hot).

I have a stash of several kinds of sock yarn, a bunch of sets of sock-sized dpns, and a couple favorite project bags. When I need an emergency project for the road, I’ll grab a bag, throw in my tool kit, a set of needles and a ball or two of sock yarn (an adult pair of socks takes up about 100 grams of wool), and I’m out the door! If you like knitting from patterns, think about printing out copies of your favorites, so you can have them ready to tuck into your project bag at a moment’s notice.